Capital gains tax an answer to the housing crisis

THE contribution of Nick Loughnan (ODT, 11.7.18) was nothing short of brilliant. The wellreasoned description of the origins and effects of the now unaffordability of much of our housing stocks is timely in the extreme.

He touched on the ‘‘extraordinary taxfree fortunes’’ that had been made by investors but sadly ended rather timidly with ‘‘our rules around investment in residential housing will have to change’’.

With respect, the rules require a major overhaul.

Unearned capital gains across the board have been favouring the welltodo for generations.

Thus the gap between the haves and the have nots has reached crisis point around the world.

The French and Russian Revolutions bear witness to the fact that the good times for the rich don’t last forever. We don’t want a revolution in this country. Nor do we want a permanent underclass who are in that unenviable position through no fault of their own.

A capital gains tax is the classic method of redistributing capital for the benefit of the community at large.

Is it really so terrible that when a capital asset is sold releasing unearned capital to the owner, that a portion, say 20%, be returned to the Crown for public purposes like subsidising home ownership for the underprivileged? Evan Alty Lake Hawea